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The body of a three-year-old boy has been found in a burnt-out car in southern Italy, along with those of his grandfather and a woman, thought to be victims of a mafia revenge attack, national media reported on Monday.

The child’s body and those of his 52-year-old grandfather Salvatore Iannicelli and Ibissa Touss, a 27-year-old Moroccan woman, were discovered on Sunday morning in the Calabrian town of Cassano allo Ionio.

The three were found after a hunter spotted the car and went to the police, La Stampa reported on Monday.

One of the adults was in the boot of the car while the child was found on the back seat. Their bodies had been reduced to skeletons, La Stampa said.

“How can you kill a little three-year-old like this? It exceeds all limits. It’s inconceivable, horrendous,” local prosecutor Franco Giacomantonio was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “In all my working life I believe this is one of the most brutal murders I have come across.”

The car was cold when found, suggesting the murders happened shortly after the victims disappeared a few days ago.

They were reported missing by one of Iannicelli’s children, who was aware that he was under a police curfew related to previous offenses.

Iannicelli had spent a number of years in prison for drug trafficking, a crime for which his daughter is currently in prison. As a result the toddler was living with his grandfather before the attack, La Stampa said.